Sustainability-related Activities Research Articles

Transcending unsustainable dichotomies in management: Lessons from Sustainability-Oriented Hybrid Organisations in Barcelona

Abstract Transformations towards more sustainable consumption and production cannot be achieved through mainstream organisational management rationales and practices. These management rationales and practices tend to impose rigid, fictitious dichotomies between what occurs internally within the organisation and what occurs ‘out there’ in biophysical systems, economies, and the broader social world. Such abstract divides not only create strong limitations on organisations’ responsibilities to address the complexity of accelerated global change, but also further exacerbate unintended negative consequences on environmental sustainability. However, new organisational forms are emerging aimed at overcoming such split rationalities with the overall goal to couple in a more sustainable manner their daily organisational practices in relation to biophysical systems. In this inductive research, we ask how Sustainability-Oriented Hybrid Organisations (SOHOs) can successfully promote positive transformations towards sustainability. We analysed nine SOHOs in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and found that their transformative abilities relate to how they: (1) promote and apply complex socio-ecological worldviews where individuals and organisations are seen as integral components of socio-ecological systems; and (2) create enabling collaborative environments which include synergetic connections and substantive relationships ‘beyond’ the organisation. We found that the complexity of socio-ecological worldviews varies within the organisations which impacts the consistency to which they implement sustainability-related activities and experience mission drift.

Sustainability Policies for the Fashion Industry: A Comparative Study of Asian and European Brands

Sustainability has become an increasingly important value in the business of the global fashion industry. All leading brands have been taking initiatives in promoting notions of environmental and social sustainability. This article discusses the similarities and differences in sustainability-related approaches, activities and collaborations of selected fashion brands. It does so as part of a comparative study of typical Asian and European brands. The European brands analysed here tend to take a holistic, structured and goal-oriented approach towards marketing their links to environmental sustainability. In contrast, the article proposes that a typical Asian brand approach seems to be more fundamental in terms of social sustainability. This is the larger context that the global fashion industry continues, embracing the concept of sustainability in terms of how businesses should not just be concerned with profits but also with commitments to society and the environment.

THE INTEGRATION OF GREEN-BUILDING TASKS AND PROJECT-DESIGN PROCESSO - CASE STUDY

The development of a green-building project following a specific reference standard such as LEED, brings new conditions and restrains for all subjects involved in the process. Such changes affect technicians, owners, bureaucracy and also the management tasks either during design or construction phases. Within this scope, the management of sustainabilityrelated activities plays a key role for the optimization of the design-project development. This research analyzes the design process of two different case-study projects undergoing the same green-building certification from the project management perspective. In both project sustainability-related activities were performed throughout the design process however, in one of them such activities were integrated to the building-design development and in the other they were not. A new methodology was created in order to analyze the project and evaluate the effects of detected projectmanagement issues under three different points of view: costs, time and building sustainability. Such “issues” were identified by researchers on the basis of the LEANdefinition of “waste”. The results showed that integration of green-building tasks through the development of the design process can considerably affect the cost, schedule and sustainability of the project design.

Mapping of Student Sustainable Development Education Knowledge in Malaysia using Geographical Information System (GIS)

This article aims to examine the levels of education for sustainable development (ESD) knowledge among studentsin secondary schools according to zones in Malaysia by using GIS mapping. The five main zones of the study werethe north zone, the south zone, the east coast zone, the central zone, and the East Malaysia zone. This quantitativeform of study used a questionnaire as research instrument. Two types of sampling techniques were applied, namelystratified sampling for school selection and simple random sampling for choosing respondents from the selectedschools. The three ESD knowledge variables measured in this study were knowledge of ESD content, knowledge ofenvironmental education and knowledge of health. The study results showed that in general the levels of sustainabledevelopment education knowledge of secondary school students in all zones were high for ESD content knowledgewhile moderate for environmental education knowledge and health knowledge. Meanwhile, the GIS map clearlyindicates the levels of knowledge among students seemed high in the north zone, central zone and east Malaysia zone,at moderate levels in the south zone, and low in the east coast zone. In conclusion, there are differences between thezones in terms of levels of knowledge of sustainable development education, and this gives an indication thatincreasing sustainability-related activities in these zones with the participation of all parties—especially schools,local communities and non-governmental organisations—may disseminate sustainability knowledge and practices atall age levels and all school locations.

Not My Business: How Cognitive Frames and Role Identities Influence Corporate Sustainability

The recent years have seen a strong increase in studies that investigate the role of cognition for corporate sustainability. Currently, however, we still lack detailed insights into how the cognition of individuals holding different roles within the organization affects the implementation of corporate sustainability initiatives. To address this shortcoming, in this study we explore how cognitive frames and role identities jointly influence corporate sustainability initiatives. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of a sustainability initiative within a medium-sized German car dealer, we show that whether individuals engage in sustainability-related activities not only depends on their sustainability-related cognitive frames but also whether they perceive social and environmental aspects to be part of their organizational role. We provide insights into the detailed mechanisms through which individuals adjust their organizational roles and corresponding identity over time. Moreover, we demonstrate that inte...

Sustainability Reporting at Schools: Challenges and Benefits

AbstractDespite advances made there is still an implementation gap with regard to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in formal educational systems at the school level. The present paper focuses on sustainability reporting as a recently emerging practice in the school sector. It presents the approach and findings of an exploratory interview study at three pioneer schools in Germany that have started to establish sustainability reporting mechanisms. The study has examined how the reporting process is evaluated by project managers with regard to its benefits and challenges. Findings support the potential of sustainability reporting at schools to contribute to an increase in students’ participation in sustainability-related activities at school, create accountability concerning the school’s efforts, help structure the existing sustainability projects and demonstrate new possible courses of action. The high expenditure of time, the teachers’ high workload and lack of support given to the teachers have been identified as major challenges of the reporting process. Further directions for future research into reporting practices at schools are given.

PSS Design Process Models: Are They Sustainability-oriented?

Sustainable growth demands focus not only on the product and production processes, but also in promoting shifts in consumption patterns and lifestyles towards a circular economy. The adoption of Product-Service Systems (PSS) strategies appears as a promising solution. However, practical application of PSS sustainable approaches is still limited. This may be associated to the fact that a PSS does not guarantee environmental improvements if it is not specifically designed with this purpose. PSS design process models can play a relevant role in supporting companies in designing sustainable PSS when they incorporate activities, methods and tools to approach the sustainability dimensions. Not only the process models, but also the intentions of practitioners and their awareness towards sustainability during the design of a PSS influence the dissemination of sustainable PSS. The objective of this work is to investigate whether the existent PSS design process models support the design of sustainable PSS and whether practitioners employ sustainability-related activities when designing PSS. Nine process models were analyzed and the perspective of practitioners about considering sustainability issues when designing PSS were captured. The collected data shows that only few of the analyzed process models actually propose activities, methods or tools to support a sustainable PSS design. This suggests an existing gap between literature and the practitioners’ expectations of PSS design process models. Moreover, those activities, methods and tools are mainly focused on eco-efficiency and the social dimension is generally not covered.

Higher education institution sustainability assessment tools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gather elements to propose a sustainability assessment tool (SAT) to be used in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil and the related program to be created for SAT dissemination and HEI monitoring, publication of results and benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach The characteristics of eight SATs were identified, seven of which are applied through widely known international programs to identify aspects to be considered in the definition of the Brazilian model. Findings In Brazil, stakeholders usually do not know how HEIs develop their potential to contribute with the construction of a sustainable development model. There currently is an international trend, which Brazil must join, to assess HEI sustainability through SATs. The comparison between different international SATs and respective programs yields some recommendations for a Brazilian model, such as definition of their purpose, types of questions to be used, the possibility to apply SATs to HEI sub-units, means of dissemination and others. Research limitations/implications The research limitation is the difficulty to obtain information allowing a deeper understanding of sustainability-related activities developed by Brazilian HEIs. Practical implications This paper provides a base on which to construct SAT and program models tailored for Brazil. Originality/value This is the first paper that stresses the importance of adopting a SAT tailored for Brazil, by comparing and discussing models that may be used for that purpose.

Cultural Sustainability and the Negotiation of Public Space - The Case of Indrachowk Square, Kathmandu, Nepal

One of the major challenges today is to learn how to share spaces that have been made for all. This is not just relating to the use of old public space, it is also about creating new common space. Apparently, cultural, social and economic activities of certain societal groups influence access to public space, but these activities do not necessarily include all users or contribute to its overall sustainability. The aim of this article is to analyse how stakeholder negotiate and conduct activities, how these form and change, how they permit and confine access to public space for different users, in which ways they allow to negotiate access, and how they relate to sustainability with focus on a case study on local groups that are associated with Indrachowk Square, Kathmandu. Results of this study show that triple-bottom line sustainability is profoundly influenced by cultural activities. Further, there must be access opportunities for the various users of space. Access to space appears as dynamic process closely linked to negotiations about how to use it. In order to get and maintain access, competence development related to knowledge, values, feelings and cultural beliefs connected with the space plays an important role, and achieving this competence can be in turn encouraged by fostering specific cultural and sustainability related activities.

From corporate social responsibility (CSR) to sustainability – Trend of social reporting in banking organization

Riding on the key findings of Yeung (2011) for the four main factors for a framework of CSR for banks: (1) internal management –implementing meaningful strategy, (2) external management – accountability for creditability, (3) internal management - process and people management; and (4) external management – consideration of stakeholders, this paper has reviewed the sustainability-related activities of a major bank in Hong Kong for the past eight years to build a framework for sustainability via qualitative and quantitative analysis of N’ vivo in this research. Five main dimensions are identified for fulfilling the principles of sustainability and the seven dimensions of CSR: 1) community – caring and disclosure, 2) consumers – products and services, 3) environmental issues – certification and schemes, 4) staff issues – talent development and 5) supply chain – performance. There is a growing emphasis on community issues of caring which embed talent development of staff issues (e.g. impacts on skill strengthening) and supply chain issues of performance which embed the environmental concerns and services issues (e.g. impacts on safety and risk-reducing policy). By understanding the reporting elements of sustainability-related reports, it is expected that transparency of community, staff and supply chain issues is needed to gain trust from the public for sustainability. This research is managerially and strategically relevant and topical. However, more sustainability-related reports from banks of other countries are required to generate a holistic picture for managing and reporting sustainability and CSR related activities.

Gender and Corporate Sustainability: On Values, Vision, and Voice

This article presents an exploratory empirical study of the role of gender in sustainability initiatives and practices in a sample of 925 men and women from American companies. We explore gender differences and their implications for sustainability values, priorities, and perceptions of sustainability-related activities in the workplace. Drawing from studies of sustainability, gender, and environmental values and action, our study finds that corporate women hold sustainability-related concerns and values to be significantly more important to them personally than do their male colleagues, and they view and evaluate their companies’ sustainability-related value priorities, initiatives, and activities from these foundational ethical and value orientations. We conclude with a research agenda that includes identifying the actual participation of women in corporate sustainability initiatives, and also the organizational enablers and impediments of their empowered action and leadership.

Online disclosure of university social responsibility: a comparative study of public and private US universities

Public and private universities tasked with incorporating principles of social responsibility (SR) into their activities face the multiple challenges of addressing expectations of diverse stakeholders, establishing mechanisms for dialogue, and achieving greater information transparency. This article has two goals: first, to analyze whether SR has become an essential element in activities associated with university accountability, information transparency, and the use of the Internet; second, to analyze whether SR is used by universities as a differentiating factor in relation to their status. A comparative study of public and private US universities shows that neither is strongly committed to the online disclosure of SR information, including in relation to sustainability-related activities. Moreover, there is a uniformity in the accountability activities of both university types, suggesting that the challenges are not being faced, and SR is not being used as a differentiating factor in the pursuit of positional or competitive advantage.

Some implications for moral education of the Confucian principle of harmony: learning from sustainability education practice in China

The concept of ‘harmony’ was taught by the Chinese sages as the practice of acceptance, tolerance, mutual respect, equality and patience, and is now given great importance by the Chinese government in its attempts to promote the stability and sustainability of the country. The concept could have significant implications for moral education. This article uses a Chinese Masters course on sustainability education as an example to analyse the positive and negative implications of the principle of harmony both for the practice of sustainability education and for educational practice in general. The course encouraged students to plan and implement feasible and practical sustainability activities mainly in the context of Chinese schools. Influenced by the value of harmony, the course chose to promote sustainability in a pragmatic but limited way. Although the course resulted in some practical sustainability related activities, a holistic and critical view on sustainability was not evident amongst the students. However, the principle of harmony could be applied critically both as a criterion for evaluating social development and as a value underlying democratic decision-making.

Identifying and Understanding Valid Sustainability Information: the Crossroads of Evidence-Based Practice, Science Literacy, and Information Literacy.

Obtaining reliable information is essential to forming a balanced understanding of the scope and complexity of environmental sustainability, and it is essential for effective participation, decision-making, and research in sustainability-related activities. While the ACRL Standards for Information Literacy (2000) are a good guiding principle for obtaining needed information, they must be applied in conjunction with other standards and principles in order for students to obtain all the necessary skills to become information literate, lifelong learners. Though they come from traditionally unrelated fields, the principles of evidence-based practice mirror the ACRL standards, and applying these methods to sustainability reference interviews has the potential to increase the science literacy of students who otherwise lack background knowledge in the sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of sustainability initiatives in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio

Insights regarding planning for sustainable development have largely focused on cases that highlight communities making dramatic changes to promote the concept. Noticeably absent from the literature, however, has been an examination of what characteristics contribute to the adoption of sustainability-related activities by less celebrated communities. This study attempts to address that deficiency through a survey of planning directors across municipalities and counties in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The survey, in conjunction with census data and a calculated sustainable activities index (SAI), serves as the foundation for comparative and regression analyses. Findings of the study indicate that the significant contributors to the SAI scores include community population size, familiarity with the concept of sustainability, discussion of the concept by planning staff, and having activities with sustainability as a goal. We offer recommendations based on our findings.